What fun is potty training without some bells and whistles to make it just a little easier? That’s what I hope today’s blog post does for you.

When it comes to the “germ factor” I feel like the process of potty training boys is much easier. Simply because they can stand and “go” anywhere. In Part 1 of this series, I shared how we introduced potty training to both of our children starting with our son. We first started teaching our son to sit on the potty, but we quickly allowed him to learn to stand, fewer germs for the both of us when we are out in public places. In Part 2 of this series, I assured you that I would share all of the resources and supplies that we used to survive the potty training nightmare at home and in public places. Let’s begin with what we used for our son at home.

When my son was a toddler I chose a potty seat similar to this style. Considering that this was almost 9 years ago it didn’t have this much fanciness, but it did have the convenient splash guard designed just for boys and it did convert into a step stool for him as a toddler when we no longer needed it for pottying.

I started off doing that good old mama hold over public toilets when he had to poop. That got old for me real quick because he was heavy and could not focus on actually pooping. After a few of those bad restroom visits, I decided to order these very, very helpful and disposable toilet seat covers. They cover the entire toilet without sliding off. I especially appreciate the fact that his pants did not have to rub the bottom of a dirty toilet bowl on a public toilet. Yuck!

The downside of using a potty seat like the one that I purchased for my son is that you have to dump all of the urine and poop into your toilet. If you’ve ever had to do this you know that you’re always avoiding splashing yourself. Eeeww! When it came time for us to begin potty training with our daughter I remembered not liking to have to dump the waste into the main toilet. I decided that it would be best to just buy her a potty seat that goes on the big toilet. That would keep me from having to dump the waste. We originally started with this cute Minnie Mouse seat. She was really happy, but with potty training, you want to eventually encourage your little one to go to the potty themselves. The more that I thought about this her lack of interest in potty training, I realized that it was likely because of the type of potty seat that we were asking her to use. I also realized that it would be harder for her to learn independence in using the potty if she can’t even reach the potty because it was on the big toilet. I did not want her to step onto a step stool to reach the toilet without me because I did not want her to fall inside of the toilet. This can happen, parents, so please be careful and realize that a toilet can easily become dangerous and cause a toddler or infant to drown or suffocate.

After lots of thinking, I figured that it would be a better idea for us to have a smaller floor size potty seat for her to reach with as little assistance as possible. I took her with me to Target and together we picked out a potty seat that she really liked. She was so happy to choose this potty seat and it made her feel like a big girl. I really believe that the special design of this potty seat is what encouraged her to enjoy using the potty. She especially liked the flushing sound that the seat makes.

Now let’s move on to the potty training in public horror that I experienced with my daughter. I tried to initially clean the toilet seat with the travel size Clorox wipes and spray. I even had gloves. That quickly became a fail because the cleaning solutions need to sit on the toilet for a few minutes to at least kill most of the germs. Who has time for that in a public restroom? Definitely not a toddler. With her dancing and saying, “mommy hurry” I knew we had to come up with something else. On our second outing (with potty training) I tried to hold her over the seat like most of us moms do. She complained the entire time and could not get comfortable enough to use the toilet. Anyone that knows me personally knows how I feel about germs in public restrooms. While helping her potty the scarf that I was wearing rubbed along the toilet. I was immediately sick. Nooo, omg! After this fiasco, I decided that I would purchase the same toilet seat covers that I used with her brother, but during my search for those, I saw a newer potty gadget that fits our on the go lifestyle a little better.

Upon my attempt to order the potty seat covers I saw a travel potty seat that I felt would be more cost efficient for our many uses. I decided to order the travel potty seat by OXO. This seat has been such a blessing for us. It comes with disposable liners and you can always reorder more. However, I have found that large durable trash bags work just as well. It also comes inside a drawstring bag that can easily fit into a large purse or diaper bag. We have finally ditched our large diaper bag, so I just carry it on my arm or drop it into my large purse.

What I really appreciate about the travel potty seat is if the kids and I are traveling alone without my husband I can allow my daughter to potty safely without leaving my son outside of the women’s restroom. He’s almost 9 and hates going inside with us when it’s crowded with other women. It’s so dangerous in the world that we live in and I don’t like the idea of allowing him to stand outside of the women’s restroom for even a few minutes. I would recommend that you make sure that you still carry wipes if you do choose to order the travel potty seat.

I hope that these affordable finds and potty training tips are a blessing to you during your potty training journey like they were for me. I want you all to enjoy this journey of parenting and motherhood with as less stress as possible.